11/26/2007
Previously Banned Gay Christian Duo Given OK for Singapore Show
Gay Christian singing duo Jason and deMarco have been given approval to perform a December show in Singapore as part of an AIDS awareness benefit concert. Two years ago, the duo was stopped from performing in Singapore.
According to Agence France Presse: "...the Media Development Authority (MDA) said it had approved a concert this time because organisers had given assurances that they aimed to highlight the HIV/AIDS issue. 'In 2005, a similar concert featuring the pop duo was disallowed because the concert was open to general members of the public,' the MDA's deputy director for arts and licensing, Amy Tsang, said in a statement Thursday. She said concert organisers have 'given the assurance to MDA that the concert is targeted at the high risk groups. The organiser has also assured MDA that the aim of the concert is AIDS education and HIV prevention,' she said."
Singapore recently voted to uphold a ban on gay sex in the country, which remains punishable by two years in prison.
Posted 1:30 PM EST by Andy Towle in AIDS/HIV, Censorship, Music, News, Singapore | Permalink
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I am sorry. So gay sex is illegal and punishable with a prison term and gay people still drop money visiting there.
Whatever.
Posted by: Marco | Nov 26, 2007 1:46:11 PM
This is probably of little importance, but Singapore also recently banned the game Mass Effect for depicting lesbian romance. If you play the game as a female you can unlock a scene where a female alien sleeps with your character. The scene doesn't actually show any simulated sex; all that is seen is a hand pressed against a window and whatnot.
Posted by: RP | Nov 26, 2007 2:12:47 PM
hi.
1. original wording in MDA press release: "target at the high risk group". Notice the singular "group" as opposed to "groups". Also note that press release was from the MDA and not the organizers. (Apparently the organizers were barred from publicizing the event) Why this is significant? It continues to frame AIDS as a gay disease, using the government controlled media. I think yawningbread.org has a nice write-up regarding this.
2. Singaporeans did not vote to uphold a ban on gay sex. It was embodied within a penal code amendment which decriminalized anal sex for heterosexual couples only. Singaporeans rarely vote; in some elections, due to election rules, the majority of citizens are deemed to have voted for the incumbent because the incumbent is the only contender. (There are no contenders because several have been sued to bankruptcy by the incumbents)
3. The mass effect ban was replaced with a "M18" rating.
Posted by: R. K. | Nov 26, 2007 7:52:58 PM